Crutchlow on front row after bruising day

Saturday at Silverstone proved to be one of Cal Crutchlow’s most action-packed days of the season so far. The local favourite has qualified on the front row of the grid for his home Grand Prix, but only after two sizeable crashes in morning practice.

After missing the Silverstone race in 2011 and starting from the back of the grid in 2012, Crutchlow’s latest result is by far his best. However, the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider experienced no less than two incidents in third free practice.

“It was a normal Saturday morning for me at Silverstone…I wanted a little bit of gas and air, so I had some because I have some massive abrasions on my arms again,” the Coventry-born rider joked, then describing his first fall on the entry to Maggots. “The arm is really, really swollen because I crashed with a cold front tyre at 293 kilometres an hour [smiles]. With the second one (at Vale), I couldn’t hold onto the bike once it started to snap - which was my own fault, don’t get me wrong.

“The team did a fantastic job to rebuild at least one bike for this afternoon’s session. I think we did a good job but not as good as (Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo, first and second on the grid), who did phenomenal lap times, but I’m pleased to be on the front row for my home Grand Prix. Thanks to everyone for the support and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day than today.”